For Weight Loss, Aerobic Beats Resistence

Want to burn fat? Start running, or swimming, or biking fast. Aerobic exercise, according to researchers at Duke Medical School, beats resistance training (and sometimes beats a combination of resistance training and aerobic exercise) if your goal is to take off a few pounds. ScienceDaily reports on the research, which randomly assigned 234 overweight people to one of three training groups: resistance training (three days per week of weight lifting, three sets per day, 8-12 repetitions per set), aerobic training (approximately 12 miles per week), or aerobic plus resistance training (three days a week, three set per day, 8-12 repetitions per set for resistance training, plus approximately 12 miles per week of aerobic exercise). Here’s what they found: The groups assigned to aerobic training and aerobic plus resistance training lost more weight than those who did just resistance training. In fact, the resistance training group actually gained weight because they increased lean body mass. The researchers also found that aerobic exercise was also a more efficient method of exercise for losing body fat–much more efficient: The aerobic exercise group spent an average of 133 minutes a week training and lost weight, while the resistance training group spent approximately 180 minutes exercising a week without shedding pounds. The combination exercise group, which required twice the time commitment, had a mixed result. It helped participants lose weight and fat mass, but did not reduce body mass or lose more fat mass than aerobic training alone. Read more from ScienceDaily. Read the study here.